Fur drying rack



L. J. COLIN FUR DRYING RACK July 5, 1938.

Filed Dec. 7, 1956 Patented July 5, 1938 PATENT OFFICE FUR DRYING RACK Leon J. Colin,

Tarentum, Pa.

Application December '7, 1936, Serial No. 114,538

4 Claims.

This invention relates to improvements in drying racks, and more particularly to a portable rack for use both in the drying of skins stretched upon pelting boards and also for the displaying of marketable furs.

Heretofore, in preparing furs for market, after the animals had been slaughtered and pelted, the pelts which were turned inside out and stretched over pelting boards were then placed in a drying room for the desired length of time to thoroughly dry the skins.

The general practice was to convey the pelting boards into the drying room and then to suspend the pelting boards from overhead wires. This necessitated frequent handling of the pelting boards and not only increased the cost of preparing the furs for market, but also losses were frequently occasioned by improperly spacing the pelting boards suspended from the wires with the result that the boards would come in contact one with the other, and the skins burned at the point of contact.

The primary object of this invention is to provide a portable rack for holding skins during the drying thereof which will not only eliminate, to a large extent, the handling of the pelting boards upon which the skins are stretched, but which Will positively prevent the skins from coming in contact with each other during the drying operation and consequently, prevent the burning of the skins and on which the skins are supported in such a. manner that the legs and feet fall away from the body of the skin and danger of burning of the skins adjacent the legs is eliminated.

Another object is to provide a knockdown portable drying rack which can be readily assembled and dismantled, is economical to manufacture, simple in construction, and convenient to use since it can be readily placed in the most advantageous position for filling and then moved without any rehandling of the skins into the drying room.

These and other objects of the invention, which i will hereinafter be made readily apparent to those skilled in this particular art, are accomplished by means of this invention, one embodiment of which is described in the following specification and illustrated in the accompanying drawing, wherein:

Figure 1 is a view in perspective of a fur drying rack made in accordance with my invention and illustrating how the pelting boards are supported thereon;

Fig. 2 is a sectional view taken on line IIII of Fig. 1; and

Fig. 3 is a view in perspective of the means for holding the pelting boards in proper position on the rack and having a portion thereof broken away for convenience of illustration.

My improved knockdown rack for drying skins and displaying furs comprises a base or truck formed of opposed side members l0 which are provided with casters or wheels II to permit the rack to be moved readily from place to place. In assembling the rack, the side members [0 are arranged in parallel spaced relation and are held in such relationship by opposed rectangular spaced frames l2 which span the space between the side members [0 and to which they are secured by bolts l3. The frames I2 are inclined relative to the side members Ill and have their upper edges bearing against beveled or sloped faces of blocks I4 carried by a center strip l5 to which the frames are secured by bolts IS. A member I! having a groove or trough l8 forming a tray for supporting the lower ends of the pelting boards over which the skins to be dried are adapted to be stretched, is secured to the sides [2a of each of the frames l2 by bolts 20 and, in order that the rack may be used to dry skins of animals having a wide range in size and, consequently, carry pelting boards of different lengths,

the sides |2a are each provided with a series of spaced openings 2| for receiving the bolts 20.

When the rack is to be used in drying skins, it is preferably placed in a position convenient to the pelter who removes the skin from the carcass and stretches it over the pelting board. As soon as the skin has been attached to the pelting board IS, the lower end of the board is placed in the trough [8 on one of the inclined frames l2 in such a way that the legs and feet on the skins fall away from the body thereof toward the center of the rack with the upper end of the board bearing against the top member I2b of the frame l2.

When one of the frames I2 of the rack has been filled with pelting boards skins to be dried attached thereto, a member 22 having a series of spaced cleats 23 projecting from one side thereof is placed over the frame in such a manner that the cleats 23 project inwardly between adjacent boards on the frame and not only space the pelting boards so as to secure the proper distance between the skins carried thereby, but also prevent lateral movement of those boards. The cleats 23 are of such length that when the member 22 is placed on the 19 having the that excessive handiing of the skins on the peltframe [2, the ends thereof lie substantially in the same plane as the outer face of the top member I21).

In order that the member 22 may be readily positioned on and removed from the frames !2, a notch 24 is provided at each end thereof which is adapted to slip over a headed pin 25 projecting outwardly from a block 26 attached to each of the members I 2a. adjacent the top of each frame l2. After themembers 22 have been positioned over each of the frames l2 the rack is then moved into the drying room and the skins" dried while the pelting boards are retained in place on a,

the rack.

When it is desired to use my improved portable rack for the displaying of marketable furs, the members I1 areremeved from the frames l2 and wires or slats are stretched across the frames between the members I2a for supporting the furs which are attached to hooks 21 on the underside of the members 22. t

From the foregoing description, it is apparent that I have provided a knockdown rack on which the skins can be dried without undue handling and in which the skins are properly spaced apart and held out of contact one with another and ing boards is eliminated. 7 While I have illustrated my improved rack as 7 being made of wood, it is understood that I de not desire to be limited to that material alone and that the rack may be made of any suitable material Without departing from my invention, and it is further understood that certain other changes, modifications, omissions, and substitutions may be made therein without departing from the spirit of my invention or the scope of the appended claims.

What I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

A drying rack comprising a base, inclined 2. A drying rack comprising a base, frames carriedby said base, said frames being secured together at their upperendsand spaced apart at the base to 'provide inclined supports, a trough adjustably mounted on each of said inclined frames for receiving the lower end of a series of pelting boards, the upper ends of which rest against the top of each said frame, and a member attached to each of said frames adapted to engage the outer surfaces of said boards and having means for spacing and holding the pelting boards thereon. I

3. A drying rack comprising a base, frames carried by said base, said frames being secured together at their upper ends and spaced apart at the 'base'to provide inclined supports, a trough adjustably mounted on each of said inclined frames fer receiving the lower end of a series of pelting boards, a member attached to each of said frames for engaging the tops of said pelting boards, and meanson .each said member for laterally spacing the pelting boards.

4. A drying rack comprising a base, a pair of inclined drying. frames carried by' said base, a pelting board receiving tray adjustably mounted on each frame, and a member mounted on each of said frames for engaging the outer surfaces of the pelting boards and having a series of projections thereon adapted to project between adiacent pelting boards to space the same and hold the boards against lateral movement relative to said frame.

. "LEON J. COLIN. 

